2009 NASA Postdoctoral Program Accepting Applications

The NASA Postdoctoral Program provides talented postdoctoral scientists and engineers with valuable opportunities to engage in ongoing NASA research projects. The Postdoctoral Program serves as a source of talent to ensure the continued quality of the NASA research workforce. These one- to three-year fellowship appointments are competitive and are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems and astrobiology.

Applicants must have a Ph.D. or an equivalent doctorate degree before beginning the fellowship. Applicants must have U.S. citizenship, Lawful Permanent Resident status, Employment Authorization Document with pending LPR status, or J-1 Visa status as a Research Scholar before beginning the fellowship. An H-1B Visa status is not acceptable because the NPP is not an employment program.

Stipend rates for Postdoctoral Fellows start at $50,000 per year. Moderate supplements are given for Ph.D. degrees in certain specialized fields, such as engineering, computer science, clinical space-biomedical science, etc., and for high cost-of-living areas. Funds are available for relocation expenses. Fellows also receive $8,000 per appointment year to support travel to conferences, meetings and other activities (i.e., travel to field sites or observatories to collect data or for required training) that directly support their research projects.

Applications for this opportunity are due on Nov. 1, 2009.

For further information about this opportunity and to apply online, visit http://nasa.orau.org/postdoc/description/index.htm. Questions regarding this opportunity may be submitted by e-mail to nasapostdoc@orau.org.

2. 2010 RASC-AL Competition for College Students

NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace announce the 2010 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage Competition.
RASC-AL is a design project competition aimed at university-level engineering students.

The RASC-AL contest challenges participants to design projects based on real NASA projects. These design projects could then potentially be implemented by NASA.

Student teams must submit an abstract for their proposed project by Feb.
5, 2010. Their work must be based on one of four themes: lunar outpost to settlement, technology-enabled human Mars mission, bringing the world along with participatory exploration, and common lunar sortie / near-Earth object mission design. The RASC-AL Steering Committee of NASA and industry experts will evaluate the proposals and select as many as ten undergraduate and five graduate teams to compete against each other at a forum in June 2010 in Florida.

The RASC-AL Program is open to full-time undergraduate or graduate students majoring in engineering or science at an accredited university.
University design teams must include one faculty or industry advisor with a university affiliation and two or more undergraduate or graduate students. A group of universities may also work in collaboration on a design project entry. Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged.

For more information about this competition, visit http://www.nianet.org/rascal/

If you would like to apply for partial funding for this competition from the Washington NASA Space Grant please follow this link:
http://www.waspacegrant.org/teamawrds.html

If you have questions about this competition, please contact Audrey Staples at Audrey.Staples@nianet.org.

3. National Space Biomedical Research Institute Announces Opportunities for College Students

The National Space Biomedical Research Institute seeks solutions to health concerns facing astronauts on long missions. This research also benefits patients on Earth. The NSBRI has two exciting opportunities for college students on several levels.

Graduate Education Program in Space Life Sciences

The NSBRI-sponsored training program in space life sciences enables students to work toward a Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. at Texas A&M University and focus their research on space life sciences and fields related to the space initiative. Texas A&M is currently recruiting participants for fall 2010. Students will pursue doctoral degrees in kinesiology, nuclear engineering (health physics) or nutrition, or a M.D./Ph.D. or Ph.D. in medical sciences.

Application packages are due Feb. 15, 2010.

For more information, visit
http://SLSGraduateProgram.tamu.edu.

National Space Biomedical Research Institute Summer Internship Program

The NSBRI's summer program is for graduate or medical students and undergraduate students who have completed their second year of undergraduate studies. Applicants are asked to send a curriculum vitae or resume, a letter of interest indicating available dates during the summer, and two letters of recommendation. The program is open to U.S. citizens.

The deadline to apply for the 2010 program is Jan. 31, 2010.

For more information, visit
http://www.nsbri.org/Education/SummerInternship.html. Questions about this opportunity should be directed to info@www.nsbri.org